SUPPLY CHAIN ARTICLES

  • Innovations In The Oligonucleotide Supply Chain: Regulatory Considerations For Materials, Manufacturing, And Lifecycle Control

    Oligonucleotide therapeutics have rapidly advanced into late-stage and commercial development, shifting regulatory focus toward the maturity of manufacturing and supply chain control rather than therapeutic novelty. Regulatory success now depends on how effectively sponsors translate innovative chemistries into well-characterized, scalable, and sustainable materials and processes.

  • "Mirror, Mirror…": Reflections On Reducing mRNA Production COGS

    Here, I outline three overarching words of wisdom I gleaned from Life Edit Therapeutics’ April Sena; Tune Therapeutics’ Tyler Goodwin; and University of Sheffield’s Adi on how the mRNA/RNA industry can better control production costs — particularly as it relates to raw material sourcing and usage.  

  • Assessing Quality Of mRNA Vaccines: Key Considerations

    To address the need for standards for mRNA vaccines, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) has convened vaccine experts to identify important quality attributes and to propose test methods that can be used to assess mRNA vaccine products. This article shares those CQAs and analytical procedure tips.

  • Picasso, Pick-Up Lines, & Personalized Medicine: mRNA's Path Forward

    Overall, my presentation on what the mRNA industry can learn from the artist Picasso singled out a few specific areas from which I felt our industry could garner greater inspiration and operational prowess. But given how “collaborative” many of these sources of inspiration are, I’ve introduced each of my takeaways with a surprisingly relevant (albeit bad) art-themed pick-up line. After all, if there’s one sector that knows it takes more than one to “tango,” it’s the mRNA industry.

  • “To Thine Own [mRNA Product] Be True:” Shakespeare's Guide To RNA GMP Principles

    In the following article, I offer some of the biggest tips and tricks experts offered during a panel discussion on the challenges of navigating GMP principles in the RNA space today — with a little bit of help from Shakespeare himself. 

  • ARW's ATMP Manufacturing Must-Reads (ST. PATRICK'S DAY EDITION!)

    Day-in and day-out, I write, read, listen to, and watch as much content as I can about CGT and RNA therapy manufacturing, in particular, and/or other ATMP industry-related topics that you should at least be aware of in the manufacturing facility. Once a month, I compile the articles and industry updates I think are most worthy of your time into an unconventional roundup article.

SUPPLY CHAIN VIDEOS

As our molecules grow more complicated, so, too, does the supply chain. Here, Advancing RNA Live speakers Khaled Yamout & Camp4’s Satya Kuchimanchi talk through how this growth challenges our understanding of raw material quality and how sponsors can better assess their suppliers.

As CRISPR technology evolves beyond the original Cas9, gRNAs are transitioning from simple targeting tools into highly engineered, complex molecules. In this Advancing RNA Live segment, speakers April Sena, Max De Long, and Venkat Krishnamurthy discuss how the rise of diverse nucleases — including prime editors — is impacting gRNA synthesis and purity.

While we can make lots of mRNA at a smaller scale, when it comes to scaling up to kg quantities of mRNA, our current batch processes leave a lot to be desired. Together, Stu Sundseth of Tune Therapeutics and Christian Dohmen of Ethris unpack the biggest barriers to scaling IVT to achieve the desired yield and quality of mRNA, offering their take on how the field is innovating to overcome these issues. 

While the speed of production and flexibility of mRNA are appealing, several industry challenges must still be addressed to realize the full potential and further expand its use.

ARTICLES, APP NOTES, CASE STUDIES, & WHITE PAPERS